Kiss Of The Dragon (2001)

Jet Li is a top Hong Kong cop who goes to Paris in order to assist an operation
being run by a French police inspector named Richard (Tcheky Karyo with really bad facial hair).
Only the tables turn and Jet gets framed for murder by the corrupt Richard. Then
the entire film becomes a frantic flight from persecution as Jet desperately tries
to escape the corrupt French police force and prove his innocence. Bridget Fonda
plays the proverbial golden hearted whore, who was forced into prostitution and
drug addiction by Richard in order to protect her young daughter. She and Jet team
up to take Richard down, although she really has very little to do other than get
smacked around a lot. After an escalating kung fu free-for-all in the traditional
Hong Kong style, Jet finally gets his man and gives him the rather deadly "kiss of
the dragon."

The film offers probably the most brutal and hard hitting martial arts action ever seen
in an English speaking film, even though it's an entirely French production. Corey Yuen's
action choreography is excellent, although the editing is frustrating and seriously
detracts from the action. However, it certainly is an improvement over Jet Li's previous
American effort, "Romeo Must Die" (2000),
which was a complete embarrassment in the action department. Arguably the highlight of
the film is when Jet accidentally stumbles into a dojo where a bunch of police officers
are practicing Filipino stick fighting. In a sequence reminiscent of
"Fist Of Legend" (1994), Jet singlehandedly
takes out the entire gang without breaking a sweat or cracking a smile. Jet Li is his
usual charming self, and his English is quite good. Unfortunately, he's the only one
worth mentioning. Usually Tcheky Karyo adds a sense of class and credibility to the
films he's in, but this time his psychotically violent character is absurd and
uninteresting. In fact, he reminded me way too much of Gary Oldman's character from
"The Professional" (1994), who had the
same problem. (you can definitely see the Luc Besson influence in this film) And
finally, it's a throw away role for Bridget Fonda, which is a shame (unless she enjoys
playing junkie hookers). Overall, it basically feels like Luc Besson's take on the Hong
Kong action genre, and as an action film, it satisfies. Just don't go into it looking
for anything else.